Wesabe Firefox Extension Automates Secure, Fast Upload of Bank Data

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Wesabe today announced the release of an open-source Firefox extension that lets members automate the secure upload of bank data to their Wesabe account. After members "record" download sessions with their banks, the scripts auto-start and play to deliver updated transaction information. The browser add-on also has a snapshot capability that captures screenshots of electronic receipts and confirmation pages. Members can send these images to their Wesabe account and attach them to the corresponding line-item transactions from their checking and credit card accounts.

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Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 /PRNewswire/ — Wesabe today announced the release of an open-source Firefox extension that lets members automate the secure upload of bank data to their Wesabe account. After members "record" download sessions with their banks, the scripts auto-start and play to deliver updated transaction information. The browser add-on also has a snapshot capability that captures screenshots of electronic receipts and confirmation pages. Members can send these images to their Wesabe account and attach them to the corresponding line-item transactions from their checking and credit card accounts.

Wesabe gives members a better understanding of how they spend via a Web-based financial management tool, and helps them get more value for their money by aggregating and analyzing financial transaction data from members' bank and credit card accounts.

"The Firefox extension is a real step forward in helping our members access and free their data. We can now support automatic data downloads for a vast majority of banks worldwide," said Marc Hedlund, co-founder and chief product officer of Wesabe. The Wesabe Firefox extension, which requires Firefox 2.0 or higher, can be used for any bank that supports the download of OFX, OFX2, OFC, QFX or QIF files. The add-on can be found at the Wesabe Web site: https://www.wesabe.com/accounts/upload.

Setting up Wesabe accounts for banks that provide automatic data downloads, including American Express, Chase and USAA, only takes seconds — members simply need to enter their username and password. The extension auto-records a login and download, and then plays it back as frequently as the member wants updated data. The extension works equally as well for banks that don't provide automatic downloads — members use the extension to "record" an actual download session from their bank Web site, a process that typically takes between one and two minutes.

The extension also gives members a quick upload option. Users who don't want to record scripts can use the add-on to transfer data to Wesabe anytime they go to their bank site and download a supported file type. Wesabe recognizes the file download and asks if the data should be transferred to the member's account.

"We're committed to giving our members the highest level of flexibility and control when it comes their data. Because we build our own data upload tools, we never ask members to let us or a third-party store their bank log-in data, and we can provide users with the ability to delete any or all of their data at any time," said Hedlund. Wesabe never has access to user names or passwords for any accounts — all are encrypted and reside on the user's desktop.

The other major feature in the Firefox add-on is a snapshot capability, which allows members to capture screenshots of electronic receipts and confirmation pages. The images can then be sent to a Wesabe account. By selecting the "edit" button found next to each transaction, members can access and attach these screenshots via a drop-down menu. They also have the option of browsing and attaching any file, such as a scanned receipt or document, to line-item transactions.

"Print this page for your records? Not anymore. With the snapshot feature, members can attach screenshots of confirmation pages and online receipts directly to the related purchase," said Hedlund.

About Wesabe

Wesabe (http://www.wesabe.com) helps members get the most from their money by sharing information about where they spend and linking them to a community dedicated to helping each other make smart financial decisions. Wesabe has the largest member-owned financial transaction database of its kind in the world, and is currently tracking more than half a billion dollars. Wesabe supports banks in 30 countries and provides automatic conversion for 36 currencies.